French carrier makes reference to an ‘iPhone 5’

We know Apple is going to be releasing some manner of phone in the relatively near future, but what that device will be called is still up in the air. There’s the more obvious iPhone 5, but names like the iPhone 4S, mini-iPhone, iCloud iPhone, and iPhone nano have also made the rounds, which has led to more speculation over what exactly is going to be released: Are we going to see a fully-featured, next-gen iPhone handset or some simplified, inexpensive version?

French mobile carrier Orange may have given us an answer. A job listing on its site for a mobile multimedia analyst specifically mentions that the position would include determining how the iPhone 5 would impact consumers Internet use. The listing remains but the iPhone 5 note has since been removed. Orange is Apple’s official French mobile carrier partner, and the network likely realized the slip up or was pressured to pull the phrase. Apple’s partners are not allowed to talk about specific devices before an official launch, so Orange’s quick move to rid the site of any iPhone 5 mentions makes us think it might have been more than just an off-hand referral to whatever iOS is bringing to the plate this fall.

There’s a possibility that Orange is in the dark as much as we are and has begun referring to the next iPhone as the iPhone 5 because… well, it’s easiest. But given that it’s Apple’s French partner and how quickly it pulled any mention of “iPhone 5” from its site, the iPhone 5 moniker might be at least one aspect of the next handset we can count on.